To my South African friends

Why? Please someone explain to me why your national emblem is the springbok. Of all the awesome animals your fine country is blessed with. Why the springbok?

This is a question that has plagued our half of the share-house recently and I’m yet to receive a definitive answer.

Yes, I am aware they can jump 3 metres in the air and 15 metres forward. Good. They are also super cute! But a national emblem? Really?

You could have had lions or elephants or hippos or rhinos! Or giraffes! I’ve recently learned that they are totally hardcore when they fight!

But a prancey deer?

I can see your side of it: “Ach no man, Australia has a kangaroo and emu, not much better!”

Agreed, but they are the best animals we have! They can’t go backwards! And they’re scary when they want to be.

Australian animals that would make better emblems than the current ones:

– None: Koalas = lame, wombats = lame etc etc

We’re working with what we’ve got. You guys though!

South African animals that would make better emblems than the current one:

Lion

Elephant

Hippo

Giraffe

Rhino

Wildebeest

Leopard

Buffalo

Ostrich

Cheetah

Black mamba.

So many. Even your food would make a better emblem! No-one would play rugby against you if they had a plate of koeksisters first!

Please rectify this oversight quickly.

*Fun wikipedia fact : “During the Second Boer War, a Boer force attempting to sneak up on the Royal Canadian Dragoons was defeated after their movements startled the nearby springbok, thus alerting the Canadian sentries, which is why the Dragoons have the springbok as their cap badge and as their mascot.”